Vestavia Hills Resident And KultureCity Founder Julian Maha Named Finalist For NASCAR Foundation Award

VESTAVIA HILLS, AL — A Vestavia Hills resident was named as one of four finalists for the NASCAR Foundation's seventh annual Betty Jane France Humanitarian Award. Julian Maha was nominated for the award, which is presented by Nationwide and honors NASCAR fans who volunteer for children's advocacy groups.

Maha is the founder of KultureCity, which seeks to improve the lives of children with autism and advocate for their inclusion in the Birmingham community. The organization was founded in 2013 when Maha began to notice the disparity of acceptance of children with autism, specifically through an incident with his own son who has autism, according to the KultureCity website.

The award is determined by an online vote and will be presented on Nov. 30 during the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Awards at Wynn Las Vegas. The winner will receive $100,000 for their charity, and runners up will receive $25,000.

“This year’s finalists have gone above and beyond to improve the lives of those that live in their respective communities,” Mike Boyd, senior vice president of Marketing for Nationwide, said in a press release. “Nationwide is honored to help raise the level of national awareness for their different charities and look forward to celebrating their accomplishments in Las Vegas later this year.” (For more updates on this story and free news alerts for your neighborhood, sign up for your local Birmingham Patch morning newsletter.)

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